Charlie Maynard arrived in 2024 and did something most new MPs never manage: he made himself a genuine nuisance to power. His cause is Thames Water. When the company sought court approval for an emergency debt package worth around £3 billion, Maynard fought it through the High Court and the Court of Appeal on behalf of customers, dozens of MPs and a run of charities, arguing that a monopoly on essential water should not be allowed to load its own failure onto the bills of people who cannot switch supplier. Thames Water's response was to try to make him personally liable for its legal costs, billed at up to £1,400 an hour. He votes, 383 of 429 divisions, and he talks, 112 speeches, which for a backbencher is close to hyperactive. The uncomfortable part is smaller than the story: a lone crusade is cheaper to run from opposition than from government, and Maynard has not yet had to choose. Verdict: one of the few new members using the job to fight something, and we will learn what he is worth when his own side is the one being fought.